OK, so I've been a little AWOL over here, so this post is mostly just a ping to assure I'm still around and still at it.

So Easter has come and gone, and away with it has gone the Leafs' playoff aspirations, two points shy of sneaking in. It was a great run to finish the season, but they sowed their own fate long ago. It's simple to look at a blown lead and shootout loss to Tampa, three give-away games to lowly Washington, and a long and uninspired winter drought to see that this was a team that simply underperformed.

This, of course, raises questions about the worth of Coach Quinn or GM Ferguson, and I'm certain the rumour mill will be churning constantly throughout the summer. One question that has firmly been answered is the worth of Mats Sundin. The man has performed miracles since the Olympics, so hopefully his dedication will not come under question again, and the doubters will shut their traps for once.

The tail of the season showed the best stretch using the youth from the Marlies, so hopefully the decision-makers will take that hint, let the kids play, and only grab a few select free agents to guide and complement them. Chara would be a satisfying steal. Elias might be a good fit with Sundin. The present may be sour, but the future does look bright for this Leaf team.

His name is Benji, and he's my new roommate. He's really messy and smells kinda funny, but he's quiet and won't drink my beer.

I had been planning to get a pet rabbit for, oh, about 25 years, and was going to go about getting one once I felt I was ready and the condo was sufficiently bunny-proofed.

Then, early last week, I got a frantic message from a friend who works at University of Toronto. A coworker of hers works in medical testing with animals, and had a particularly friendly bunny that was entirely failing to produce the antibodies required for their research. This meant they could not use the rabbit and he would have to be put down.

In comes SPU to the rescue! I spent the next week building a rabbit condo and trying to bunny-proof as much of the place as I could, including a very late night tying up A/V cables and wrapping them in plastic tubing.

It took him most of the first day to step out of the carrier and into his new home, and couldn't bear to be touched, but in just two days he has already joyfully discovered several corners of the living room and eagerly accepts a hearty scratching on the head.

Yes, this is the start of a long friendship. And, of course, like a typically annoying pet owner, I have many pictures.